For Every Action
by LostInTheDreams
Summary: It's the mistakes we can't take back that hurt us the most. Kaito has done something irreversible and, inadvertently, made an enemy of Hakuba who'd only just started to understand him. With Pandora close, Kaito may need to fight his friends to get to it.
1. Chapter 1: The Wounds

This will be a (three?) part story, since I'm working on my longer one at the moment.

I had a plan to make this one longer too but... I can't do both. I'm still going to put the main plot points I wanted in this story,  
It'll just be a lot more condensed.

I tired to make them in character for this, KAITO, AOKO (later) and HAKUBA will all be the main focus.  
It will not focus on love but (of course, since Aoko's here) there will be some lovey-ish scenes

Because of dislike towards my stories where the characters may seem out of character (in my shorter stories),  
I would like to know if everything in this one is acceptable.  
Thank you  
P.S. NO BETA READ FOR THIS STORY (But I have reread it ... A LOT)

**DISCLAIMER**: I do NOT own Magic Kaito or its characters. They belong to Gosho Aoyama. Anything else mentioned in here, besides the story  
plot... and wording... and such, I ALSO do not own.

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_**Chapter 1: The Wounds**_

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Remember, people will judge you by your actions, not your intentions. You may have a heart of gold - but so does a hard-boiled egg. ~Author Unknown

...

...

_It was actually a bit fun to have the blond detective chasing me,_ Kid thought to himself_. If_ _he thinks he can catch me though, he's dreaming._

It wasn't often that that British boy decided to chase the Kid, conceding to the other's speed even before they started. KaitouKid had seen subtle changes in the teen detective start appearing after the case with Chat noir, and a more liberal change after Nightmare's death, so he wasn't sure if this was going to be the usual from now on.

They were running through a park right now and Kid knew that the cops weren't far beyond them. For all his boasting, the thief still tired like everyone else. The day hadn't been the best with someone pulling the fire alarm, making him miss his lunch, along with some last minute changes to his plans that made him miss dinner as well. Running on empty wasn't the best thing in the world but freedom and life were important enough to give him the adrenaline he needed.

They rounded a corner in the dark and Kid's usually perfect instincts failed him for a moment and he lost his footing as his ankle scraped roughly against a jagged rock. The rock happened to be part of dozen or so more that surrounded a small koi pond that Kid promptly fell head first into.

He came up sputtering, his hat floating somewhere along the water's surface.

"Damn it" the magician cursed quietly as he heard Hakuba'sfootsteps coming closer. Kid placed on hand on the small, fist sized rocks boarding the pond as he tried to get to his feet, monocle falling off into the water as well.

Dripping wet wasn't the best way to disguise yourself so he let his other hand feel around in the water for his hat. When he got hold of it, he froze in place, eyes widening to see one of the large white and orange fish swimming around in it.

Unfortunate as he was to be stuck with his phobia, he couldn't just throw the hat back if he wanted to keep his anonymity. Kaito's hand shook as he kept hold of the rim and his mind went meticulously blank.

A sharp noise behind him made the thief react, throwing out the hand that wasn't holding… something. He heard a sharp scream follow his movement and looked blankly at Hakuba who must have been behind him. The detective was on the ground, covering his face with his hands.

Kid looked numbly down at the rock that he hadn't let go of.

"Hakuba-san-" Kaito tried to shake off the lingering fear of the creature in favor of uncertainty over what just happened "are you alright?"

There was a lot of blood staining the blond's hair and running down his collared shirt.

_Too much_, Kid though. _If he'd hit him with the rock, even as hard as he knew he had, there shouldn't be that much blood flowing over the detective's fingers._

Hakuba actually whimpered. The sound was enough to fully dislodge any thoughts of the fish. Kid dumped it unceremoniously back into the pond before putting the hat on and climbing out of the pool.

"Hakuba-san…" The thief reached out a hand to make Hakuba lean back more so that he could get a better look at what he'd done but the detective shoved his hand away, flinging some blood across the others white coat.

"Get away from me!" he yelled.

"Hakuba-san, you're hurt-"

"I said get away from me!" The detective's breathing was fast and he let out little pained noises that made Kaito wince inwardly. The thudding footsteps of the police catching up told him he should leave, but he held down on the instincts and knelt down next to the detective. _There was so much blood._

Kaito was unsure what to do. He was Kid at this point and Kid couldn't sit with Hakuba to make sure he was all right. Kaito might, but Kid couldn't afford such affections.

"I'm sorry Tantei-san" he whispered under his breath and vanished off into the shadows, hoping that the blond would be okay.

…

Kaito sat dejectedly in class, ignoring everyone who tried to talk to him. Aoko sighed from her adjacent seat and flung one of her erasers at him. There was no retaliation as it hit the side of his head.

"Kaito what's wrong with you?" she asked him during lunch with fire in her eyes. "You walked all the way here with me in silence and now you won't even acknowledge me." Aoko wasn't use to Kaito being quiet and it didn't suit the magician at all. "Say something!"

Kaito didn't really listen to her words since he was too busy burying himself in self-loathing. Hakuba hadn't come to school and, knowing the detective's behavior well, there was little that would keep him from class.

"Sorry Aoko." He flipped up her skirt, "nice undies."

That kept the girl from bothering him the rest of class, though he did miss his little skirmishes with her. The normalcy would have been welcome if he could have found the energy for it. Aoko was kind and Kaito didn't want to give her any reason to worry along with him.

They were both surprised when Aoko's father came after school to pick her up.

"Sorry Aoko but I was on my way to the hospital and I thought Hakuba-kun would like it if I brought you along since I don't really know what to say to him."

"Hakuba-kun's in the hospital?" Aoko's surprise was matched by Kaito's, though he didn't voice it. "What happened?"

"I don't know" the older man let out a sigh and smoked one of his cigarettes with the window, cracked open so they wouldn't suffocate in his backseat. "We were after the Kid like usual and when we caught up to him, Hakuba-kun was on the ground… He's in pretty bad shape."

"What's wrong with him?" Kaito barely go the words out as his heart constricted.

Nakamori was quiet for a while as they drove, though the teens waited for him to answer instead of asking him again. Persistence never paid off with this man, it only made him angry when he was asked a question more then once. When they reached the hospital the Inspector turned around and faced both of the kids. "We're not sure what happened but Hakuba-kun… well, whatever it was, something hit him in the eye yesterday." He sighed and looked away. "I'm afraid he lost it."

"His eye!" Kaito shouted louder then he should have. "He lost his eye?"

"Yeah." The inspector got out of the car and Aoko followed him silently. Kaito stayed where he was, cursing himself with every terrible word he knew.

"Kaito aren't you coming?" Aoko poked her head back in the car and he tried to smile a little at her.

"Hakuba-kun doesn't exactly like me. I don't think it would be good if I went in there with you."

"Don't be such an idiot." Aoko pulled Kaito's sleeve and he was just out of it enough to let her get him out of the car. "Hakuba-kun doesn't hate you."

_-Get away from me!_-

The words echoed ominously in his ears and the magician freed himself from the hot-tempered girl's hand. "Trust me on this one. Hakuba-kun doesn't want me there."

"Kaito." Her tone was gentle and her eyes pleading. She didn't want to go in there with just her dad. Neither of them were good at the art of tact and had come to relay on Kaito for the more delicate situations. He'd already helped Aokowhen she started having bad dreams after her mothers death and Ginzowhen he couldn't find the words to tell his daughter when he wife was no longer going to be around. Kaito even had to play a regrettable, but thankfully small, role when Aoko came into womanhood. His mom took care most of it.

"Hakuba-kun... may not have liked you when he first came" she admitted, "But I think he's gotten passed all that now."

He almost let himself believe it. It was true that Hakuba didn't have the venom towards him that he had before. Now things were different again. Kid - Kaito - had caused him to get hurt _for no good reason_ other than his own irrational fear.

"Fine, but I'm not going in to see him if it only makes him mad" Kaito conceded. He needed to see what he'd done to Hakuba last night and face the repercussions that came with it.

Once in the hospital, the trio was led to a room in the back of the hospital where patients were sent after surgery. While Aoko and her father looked gloomy, Kaito couldn't seem to get his emotions in order and his only known instincts for anything unknown were either to run towards it or away from it. The magician wasn't sure he was following the right one this time.

The detective was asleep when they arrived so Kaito had no fear of entering. The greater part of the right side of the blond's face was wrapped in bandages that circled his head, making odd ends of his hair stick up. Though there was no blood on any of the white material that teen was draped in, it wasn't encouragement to the three. Hospitals were clean, that _did not_ mean they didn't hold dark and horrible secrets. Death was just tidier here.

Aoko sat dutifully next to Hakuba and placed a hand reassuringly on his arm. "Dad." She spoke up with fierce scorn echoing in her words. "You've got to make sure Kid pays for this." Kaito could see tears leaking out of one of her eyes and it only made him feel that much worse. Little to no fear came to him when Nakamorigave a quick nod to his daughter. _Maybe Kid deserved whatever it was the man came up with as payback during the next heist._

Hakuba started to move during their conversation, nothing much but definite signs of waking. He opened his eye and Kaito wasn't quick enough to move before he was the first thing the detective saw.

True to Kaito's previous thoughts, Hakuba was furious at him. He bolted up in the bed and grabbed the sheets in tight fists and almost growled at the magician. Aoko read his actions as confusion instead of most-unwelcome-surprise.

"Hakuba-kun calm down, you're in the hospital."

Aoko's words automatically brought a stop to anything the detective was about to do and Kaito felt bad that the other had to hide behind his manners, especially when he was feeling that strongly.

"Aoko-kun?" The detective turned to look at her, which was difficult since she and her dad were on his right side. He hadn't even seen her with his limited vision.

"Oh, I'm sorry" she blushed. Aoko got out of her seat and moved it to his good side. "I wasn't thinking."

"It's ok..." Hakuba watched them as they resituated themselves and Kaito remained frozen near the edge of the bed. Once they were settled Aoko put her hand back on his arm.

"How are you feeling? Is there anything I can do?" her tone was soft and pleading, Kaito once again echoed her words in his own head but wouldn't voice them.

"Aoko-kun" the detectives smile was small as he tried to appease the girl's wants and needs along with his own. "It may sound strange to you, but if it's not too much trouble, I'd like to talk to Kuroba-kun alone."

"Oh...Ok." She looked hesitantly at Kaito who just waved his hand in a goodbye gesture and smiled. "I'll be back in a few minutes then."

"Thank you."

"No problem, I'll see you soon."

Aoko left willingly enough though she had to drag her dad along with her since he was wondering curiously what the two boys needed to talk about. The door shut.

"Kuroba-kun..." The hatred was back in the detective as if it had never been interrupted.

"I'm so sorry Hakuba-kun, I didn't mean to." Kaito would worry about the fact that Hakuba knew he was Kid if it ever came up in the future but it didn't matter at that moment. "I didn't know you were behind me. I swear I would _never_ have hurt you on purpose."

"I know you didn't mean to do but," besides the intense anger the detective was giving off, there was an underlying sadness to his words, an emotional connection to the magician that Kaito knew he didn't deserve. "Kuroba-kun... I can't forgive you for this."

"I know." Kaito winced internally but kept a neutral firmly in place. It felt hard for him to breathe. The phantom thief hadn't killed Hakuba or anything but knowing he'd hurt the other so badly made him feel as if he had. "I know..."

"I'd like it if you left now." The detective's stare hardened but he wouldn't meet Kaito's, even if the other teen hadn't been looking downward. "I don't want you to come back."

"I understand, but for what it's worth, I am truly sorry." Kaito left the room not using any special type of escape technique but by simply walking out the sliding glass door for once.

It was one of many changes the magician would unconsciously be making in the future.

…

"Kid! Get back here!" The thief ran as the Inspector chased him to the roof. Nakamori wasn't usually so negligent since Kid clearly had the advantage when it came to heights.

It was that confusion that made Kid keep running instead of escaping out one of the windows or losing him in an adjacent room.

Once on the roof, the thief turned around to face the man who was out of breath. It took a few seconds for Kid to notice that there weren't any officers following him.

"Kid!" The old man huffed out, fury seeping into his words. "I've been chasing you for years and I have to know. Was I wrong about you!"

Kaitou Kid turned and bowed elegantly to the man. "Nakamori-keibu, I think you need to rephrase your question since I don't know how it is you think of me."

"Hakuba-kun, he's been chasing you too and I thought … I thought…" He let a growl escape his lips. "I THOUGHT YOU WERE AT LEAST A DECENT PERSON! HOW COULD YOU DO THAT TO HIM?"

Kid smiled and let his cape flutter wickedly around him. Nakamori wasn't close enough to see the strain in it, the falseness that held it in place. Kid could have defended himself. He could have told Inspector it was an accident, as it was. He could have done so many things.

But Kaito wouldn't let him. Kid – Kaito – was responsible whether it was his fault or not.

So Kid stood there, smiling at Nakamori, at a man he respected for years as a strong and independent person. "I'm afraid you've thought too highly of me."

"Damn you." Kid wasn't ready for the man. As winded as his was, Kid had underestimated his speed and strength. The glider wasn't prepared so the thief's only action when the older man lunged at him was to stumble backwards.

The knife separated skin from itself as the blade scraped across the thief's ribs, not having enough force to penetrate into his lung but hard enough to make a deep gash in his side.

Kid's eyes widened as the Inspector straightened himself, holding the blood-covered knife. He spared a second to look down at the wound where it ripped his coat and was staining it scarlet.

"If you're willing to hurt others to get away I have no trouble hurting you in return. Give up."

The wound was deep and bleeding but it didn't hinder his movements. A few clicks as the glider was put in place and the phantom thief flew off into the night, going uncharacteristically against his namesake by allowing himself to bleed.

The Inspector, for all his words, resented his actions. He hadn't expected to hit him. The thief had always gotten away from him before but something had slowed him down this time. Something that Nakamori said had dulled his response.

The man only saw this after he'd hurt the other. As bad as he felt about, he couldn't stop the satisfaction of knowing that he _could_ hurt the other when he wanted to. Kid had always been so far out of reach that he'd come to doubt whether or not he'd be able to touch him.

Myths never lived up to their expectations. The untouchable could be touched, the unhurtable could be hurt…

And a phantom could bleed.

…

Jii had no trouble stitching the magician back up. The cut had been clean but it would leave a scar. Kaito saw some future problems with that but he'd find a way to deal with them when they arose.

For now the magician settled on the tedious workload of school and research. He hadn't found a gem in Japan that was close enough for him to strike at and that had a shred of chance of turning out to be Pandora in some time. Now there was.

It was a large sapphire. It would be held in Tokyo soon for only a few days and was being held on lone from a rich woman form the states. The gem itself wasn't legendary or special, but its significance was.

The Heart of the Ocean.

Kaito never doubted that Pandora _could _be found in this gem, even though it was only recently created. From first hand knowledge, the thief knew never to underestimate the feelings that go into something, especially something as ironically hopeful and tragic as the story behind the making of this blue diamond.

Now he had to hope that he could get the precious stone safely while protecting Nakamori from Snake, and now himself from the Inspector. It was up to the Inspector to decide whether the thief had paid enough for the Hakuba's pain. In Kaito's own opinion, he had not.

Not that Kid was a masochist. He hoped that the Inspector didn't plan on fighting him with guns now, or knives, but he couldn't say the man was wrong if he did decide to.

It made Kaito confused as to what he should be feeling and what he should expect from Nakamori.

This confusion made him slower. Made his actions less thought out. Caused him to rely on instinct rather than thought.

All of which could, so very easily, get him killed.

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**Author's Note:**The "Heart of the Ocean" was really made a few years ago. It was the necklace in Titanic and was made out of a real Sapphire in 1998?  
I don't currently know who owns it and DO NOT own anything or have any affiliations that go with the name

**I DO NOT OWN TITANIC OR ANYTHING TO DO WITH TITANIC!** (it just sounded cool to put in the story :) )


	2. Chapter 2: The Magic's Gone

_**Chapter 2: The Magic's Gone**_

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"A dreamer is one who can only find his way by moonlight, and his punishment is that he sees the dawn before the rest of the world."- Oscar Wilde

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...

Hakuba was back in school and Aoko had stopped throwing things at him.

Both were very good things in anyone else's perspective but they were like neon signs of for coming danger to Kaito. Aoko hadn't yelled at him once this week, even though he'd broken into the girl's locker room again and the teacher caught him messing around with her day planner.

"Aoko!" The magician scooted his chair over to hers when the teacher turned her back to write on the chalkboard. "What's the matter? Are you sad that I didn't peek on you in the locker room? Then again," he laughed to throw off any unintended reactions that may have come with the statement, "who would want to look at such a manly looking girl?"

"Kaito shut up!"

She smacked him hard enough on the back of the head that the teen decided it was better to let her brood in her thoughts. Less painful in any case.

Hakuba was harder.

The detective kept the bandages when he returned, though there were less of them and they were only designed to keep his missing eye safe from infection. Kaito had to make sure not to get to close to the detective. There was a taboo in contact now and Aoko had asked him several times why he was being so distant. Kaito couldn't tell her the truth and Hakuba remained silent as well. This upset her but she went over and tried to help the detective anyway, even if Kaito wouldn't offer his assistance.

Hakuba remained silent with _anything_ that had to do with Kaito. When Aoko brought him up in conversation, Hakuba would go quiet. The detective even went out of his way not to look anywhere that Kaito might be.

The silence hurt more than anything and the magician secretly hoped that the detective would just yell at him, hit him, do something. There was an anxiety in waiting for that moment to come that was overpowering and left Kaito on guard and stretched thin throughout the day.

It was Aoko who finally snapped after a week of this and not Kaito.

She took the magician's arm securely in hers so that he couldn't break free. Aoko knew how strong of a grip she had and wasn't letting go. The school bell rang and she got up, forcing Kaito along with her.

"Ouch Aoko! Careful with me, I'm not a rag doll!"

Kaito held his side where the Inspector had cut him. Aoko had pulled her arm hard enough to stretch the skin by the fresh stitches.

"Stop complaining and start acting like a normal person!" Aoko caught hold of Hakuba's arm and Kaito felt the tightening of her hand on his wrist when the detective tried to get away. "You too!"

Hakuba tired to use his free hand to get Aoko's death grip off of him. How impolite it was to force a girl to do something, showed how much the detective didn't want to be anywhere near Kaito.

The magician saw all the signs and cemented his resolve. With a twist of his arm to the side and a flash of pain down his arm, he came free of Aoko's hold and turned away before she could face him.

"Sorry Aoko. I've got some stuff I need to do." Kaito waved over his shoulder and walked out of the room.

She tried it several times over the next week and Kaito got away from her on every occasion.

The magician had even gone the great length of trying to avoid his childhood friend. It was hard, and took some skill, but he pulled it off as well as he could. Walking home was now done solo, because of the fact that Aoko only brought up his odd behavior, and classroom disruptions were brought to a sudden end.

Kaito knew things were going to be different after he'd hurt Hakuba, even if it were done accidentally. He didn't think Aoko would be one of the things he would lose.

School and sleep weren't enough for the magician anymore. Late night antics that he'd never had were now taken up and he'd spend his free time, which he seemed to have a lot of now, sneaking around the neighborhood or, if he was bored with that, surfing online chat rooms which he played little or no part in.

Life wasn't very fun anymore.

Kid made several appearances in that next month and was glad the Inspector had gone back to his normal routine. It only took him minutes to get the diamond and all four had not been what he was searching for.

Two diamonds, a ruby, and just to throw the investigation team off, an old Chinese relic from the Yuan dynasty. The little rusted rapier wasn't interesting in the least.

The day finally came when The Heart Of The Ocean was to be displayed in Tokyo.

Kaito had made his plans early on, with so little there was to do these days. Escape routes were done, preparations were made, and advantages circumstances were taken.

So Kid was prepared for everything the night he'd sent out his warning.

Almost everything.

It was easy to get the necklace off the perch it was placed on. Easy to fool Nakamori into thinking that he'd gone and vanished into the crowd outside the auditorium hall. Easy to get to the roof where he could use his glider and laugh at the crowd below as he escape.

But there was one thing Kid hadn't counted on.

Aoko was there.

_Why was she there on the roof, waiting for him like he'd never expected her to?_ The thief knew that the girl didn't like being involved with him, didn't even like hearing his name spoken. She'd come to one heist before and only because it involved something precious to her that she was afraid she might lose.

So what could be so important that Aoko would find it necessary not only not only to come to a heist that involved a diamond that she didn't care for, but to corner the thief when she was alone, without the protection of her father.

"Nakamori-san." Kid bowed low and gracefully, showing Aoko all the cutesy he could without letting any of his masks down. Kaito knew how close his voice was to Kids, no surprise there, and no one had known him as long as Aoko who could hear the accompanying similarities.

"How do you know who I am?" The question was sudden but Kid kept up a wide smile when he lifted his head. "I know as much as I need to and more. Your name, miss, would be part of the 'more'. Your father is high up on my priority list."

"Stay away from my dad!"

"Nakamori-san," Kid inclined his head in a playful manner. "That would be rather difficult since he is the one who won't leave _me_ alone. I am not the pursuer here."

"Then leave! If you leave then my dad won't have to be anywhere near you!"

Aoko's fury couldn't be absolved through any means that Kid possessed, though Kaito had a few suggestions.

"I'm afraid I can't comply with that request either. I'm a thief and I will not listen to a high school girl who can't understand my priorities." Kid kept the humor in his face and stance even as he regretted insulting Aoko when she had no way of fighting him back. It wasn't fun when only one of them could be hurt by the other.

"Why can't you just leave?"

Kid's mocking smile was hard to keep plastered in place when Aoko started to cry. "You're hurting everyone I care about."

"That is, and never will be, my intention." Kid tipped his hat so his darkening eyes wouldn't catch her attention. "I apologize for hurting you're friend and for any inconveniences I've brought on your father."

"Are you really that stupid?"

Kid was unsure what Aoko was asking him but the police would find them soon. If he didn't allow her to get her rage out now, she'd only be more hollow and angry at school tomorrow.

"I'm afraid I don't understand. What else is there that you feel I need to apologize for?"

"Everything." The tears were clear and thick now but they didn't interrupt her words and were shed out of revulsion rather than grief. "You've hurt so many people you _don't even know about!_ Hakuba-kun's hurt because of you! My dad's caught between wanting to hurt you and then regretting it! You don't even know how much you're hurting my friend!"

"Friend?" _Hakuba hadn't been nearby and Kaito made sure to give him his space so he didn't know how much more he was hurting the detective when he wasn't even around him._

"You – you – you're an awful person!" Aoko sputtered, trying to find the right words for her resentment and failing. "You know-it-all jerk! If you're so smart then how come you don't know how many people you hurt, just by being here? Kaito – Kaito hasn't done magic in weeks now because of you! He looked up to you! He defended you! How can you go and hurt people like that?"

_What?_ Kaito had to think back to the last time he'd preformed magic in front of her. It couldn't have been that long ago. He was a magician, an entertainer, there was no way he could have stopped that without realizing it, even though he hadn't been hanging around her much anymore.

"Well then I apologize for that as well. Life is no fun without a little magic." Kid had conjured out the rose between his fingers before he'd even given it any thought. Women and roses went together naturally in his mind.

"Don't you dare!"

Kid dropped the red rose from his hands and backed up at Aoko's sudden shout when she started forward on him.

"I don't know when you started doing that but only Kaito should – just don't do that anymore!"

"Very well. I didn't mean to make you angry with me." _Or create any similarities between Kid and myself_, Kaito thought.

There was the loud slam of a door and Kid spun to face behind him.

"Sorry, I didn't think you noticed I was here. Didn't want to give you the impression that I was trying to sneak up on you." The hard and even tone of Hakuba's voice instantly cleared Kid's face of the smile he had been trying to keep up.

"To what do I owe the pleasure of your renewed interest?" Kid tipped his hat, acknowledging the detective and keeping a firm hold on the necklace. He wasn't going to lose it now when it could be Pandora. If Hakuba asked for it though, he would give it to him.

"I followed her so don't feel as if I'm giving your existence any recognition. I want nothing more to do with you."

"A disappointment. You really were fun to have around." The grin was force but Kid couldn't let Aoko see how much Hakuba's presence affected him.

The moon shown out brightly in the night sky and bathed them in its radiant glow. Kid was having a hard time controlling the situation so it was best to see if it was Pandora or not and give it to the detective before things got out of hand.

Kid raised the gem into the rays that were bright enough to make the night seem like day, just in a shade of gentle blue instead of harsh white.

"What are you doing?"

Of course Hakuba was the one how asked it and Kid shrugged his shoulders. Nothing happened.

As Kid was about to lower his hand, the angle of the moonlight suddenly shifted and submerged the thief in a bright red glow, temporary blinding him from seeing the world around him.

"What are you?" Kid could hear footsteps but the red light coming from the gem had frozen him in place, keeping his clothes and vision scarlet.

"What is that?" Kid understood that question and answered it in a whisper, making himself believe it as well.

"Pandora."

Finally he had found it. Kaito had found the gem then so many had killed for. That his father had died for. There was reason now, if only for a few moments before he was able to break it, that Kaito was able to see the rationale in his existence.

The thief heard the gun go off but couldn't see where it had come from. With Aoko and Hakuba's arrival, he'd stopped looking around for danger in favor of trying to make up what he owed them.

It didn't surprise the thief then, when his wrist suddenly felt like a bull had trampled it. He cried out in pain and not surprise, searching the darkness with what little vision he had once the red glow was no longer obscuring it.

"So, you've found it."

Kid made sure his breathing and heart rate stayed normal. No use in getting worked up over a bunch of hack criminals. Even if said criminals had guns and two of the most important people in the world to him were there now.

Best not to worry about that.

"Snake." Kid may still have had blindness about his eyes but his ears worked fine and he turned to his right to face the man who was hiding behind an air duct on top of the building. "I'd like to say it's a pleasure to see you, but then I would be lying."

"Oh but I heard you're a lot like me now."

Kaito couldn't help clenching his fists and showing that the murderer had gotten to him.

"I will never be like you Snake; you, or your men."

"Pity." The revolver was held up to the moonlight thief and pointed at his chest. "Then again, I wouldn't want someone as weak as you on my team anyways. Can't even kill a man when they're pointing a gun at you, can you? That just means you're weak."

Kid was able to dodge before the bullet was fired but Snake had anticipated this and fired another round at the floor, skidding across the thief's ankle since he had to rely on his feet now that his wrist was surly broken.

"The diamond please."

Snake repositioned the gun, showing how easy it would be to take Kid down now that the thief was slower.

"On one condition. Let them go." Kid tilted his head to the side to indicate the detective and Aoko. "They have nothing to do with this."

"Isn't that the one you hurt?" Snake laughed mercilessly. "Don't want me to kill him when you failed to?"

Kid couldn't tell him he was trying to protect the two of them but, if he agreed with the gunman's statement, it would grantee that Hakuba would be shot. Snake never missed an opportunity to try and best Kid when he was given the chance.

"No, I don't like it when people die. I'd appreciate it if you kept up my policy. That, or I jump off the edge of the building right now and you never see Pandora again. You can kill anyone you want but this gem will never come back."

Snake looked between the three of them and Kaito took a moment to look over at the other two as well. He hadn't been paying attention to them since Snake showed up.

Hakuba looked like he always did, though more prepared and cautious then the thief had ever seen him. Aoko looked a mixture of sad, angry and confused, all of which fought for dominancy yet none succeeded.

"Fine. Bring the diamond over here and I'll make sure that they don't get hurt."

Close enough.

Kid was willing to sacrifice the gem if it meant that the other two would be all right. He knew how much his father had gone through, how much he had gone through, but life won over revenge any day.

Kid used his left hand to pick up the diamond, just a few feet from where he was standing. Looking down at his wrist, he could see where the glove was torn and bone was showing though skin. Funny how it wasn't hurting.

The thief stopped just a few feet in front of Snake, hand outstretched and offering the diamond even though the other man couldn't reach it yet.

"Here, take it."

The sapphire heart flew through the air with precision and landed in Snake's extended hand.

"You know I made no pledge on keeping you alive." The hammer was pulled back.

"I know."

"You idiot! Get out of the way!"

It was the first words that Kaito had heard Hakuba speak to him in such a long time that, even if he were prepared to move, he wouldn't have been able to.

The gun was fired at point blank range.

_It wasn't as if he could have missed me anyway._ Kid thought to himself. It was nice to know that Hakuba had still had some feeling towards him that weren't hateful.

Those were his last thoughts before his vision blackened without Kaito having to close his eyes.


	3. Chapter 3: Inclinations of Promise

I had some problems with the quote. If it's not exact, I sorry. I kept finding two different version of it and have never watched the movie.

* * *

_**Chapter 3: Inclinations of Promise **_

* * *

"Dusk, is just an illusion, because the sun is either above the horizon or below it.

And that means that day and night are linked in a way that few things are; there cannot be one without the other,

Yet they cannot exist at the same time.

How would it feel, I remember wondering, to be always together, yet forever apart?" – The Notebook

...

...

Hakuba watched Kaitou Kid fall to the floor in motions that were never associated with the phantom thief or classroom prankster, too careless and simultaneously sharp to fit either persona. The cape was the last thing to fall, coming to lie besides the thief's body without hindering sight to anything more than his injured right hand.

The detective could see his eyes half open and out of focus because the thief's head was positioned upright due of the brim of the white top hat, bathing his face in moonlight. The blood pooling around the left side of the magician's chest sent the shock to the detective's brain.

_You can't just die on me. I haven't even – You haven't even felt as bad as I have yet – and_. Hakuba swallowed back his anger. It wouldn't do him any good when there was no one to aim it towards and it wasn't like he wanted Kaito's death.

_Can't I be angry with someone for a _little_ while? The idiot _had_ hurt me and I possessed every right to try and get him back._

"What a fool I am." Hakuba whispered the words under his breath. He knew very well that the magician hadn't meant to harm him that night. Hakuba had thought he'd even figured out part of the other's motive for stealing but had yet to test his theories.

What use were they to him now if Kaito was dead?

"Little kids should know when to leave a room."

The detective faced the man who had just shot the gun. The gem that Kid had been after dangled in his hands from the chain, catching glimmers from the moon and throwing around streaks of crimson out into the night.

Aoko ran across the rooftop, keeping a distance from Kid's still form until she was at Hakuba's side. The girl trembled slightly but showed no sign of running away without him.

"Hakuba-kun let's go!" she whispered frantically under her breath. "We have to get my dad."

That killer would be gone by the time they were able to get any help and the detective knew it. This had been planned.

"Who are you?"

Snake turned towards them and let out a quick bark of laughter. "Why does it matter who I am? If you really want, I can shoot you." The gunman grinned when he faced them. "I don't like keeping promises anyway."

"Fine but I think it would be safer if you went down stairs first." Hakuba wrapped an arm protectively around Aoko so that she would be safe. "That way we can't warn the police before you escape and you can shoot us if we come after you."

The man let out another rough snort. Even though the moonlight was bright, the man was wearing a hat and it made most of the features on his face hard to define. Hakuba narrowed his eyes to try as see better. It was true that, no matter what they did, they wouldn't be able to get to the police force in time, so he wanted to be able to give them as much information as he could.

"At least one of you knows how to use your brain." Snake walked towards them since Hakuba hadn't been able to move from the stairs in some time. In passing, the man in black sneered at the thief. "Follow me and you'll know what happens," the gunman told the detective when he was only a few feet away, and slipped the necklace into his pocket.

"We won't."

The door closed and Hakuba lost all the reserve he'd been holding onto, rushing to Kaito's side even though there wasn't any hope.

"Idiot, wake up!" He shook the thief's shoulders but got no response. He made sure not to shake him too hard so that the hat would stay on. He couldn't be dealing with Aoko right now.

Hakuba was astounded when Kaito's eyes closed and reopen, even if they remained unfocused.

Now that he was looking, the thief was obviously breathing. The breaths were shallow and short but there.

_Even if your victim is shot in the heart they will remain alive for, at most, three or four minutes before all body functions cease. _

Old knowledge that Hakuba had kept hold of made itself known. It was unheard of for someone who had been shot in the heart to be conscious for those few minutes so maybe there was still time.

Kaito let out a small cough of breath, particles of blood sliding between his lips, and eyes remaining cloudy.

_Yeah right. He wasn't going to be ok. Paramedics would have to go back in time to help him now._

It hurt to feel the last option that held any promise fall from his fingers. Kaito may have been a lot of things to him, but none of them were bad enough for the detective to want him dead. None of them were even bad enough to have the detective desire him hurt.

Hakuba had just wanted to time to sulk. Was that too much to ask for? Why did this have to happen now, when the detective wasn't ready for it?

"Don't die on me." Hakuba knew telling the thief that wouldn't change anything but he couldn't help voicing his desire.

Aoko bent down next to him and ran her fingers down Hakuba's shirt. "Come on. He had it coming."

"Maybe. It seemed like him and that man knew each other." _And had been arguing with one another, clearly on opposing sides._

Aoko knew that fact as well but needed a reason not to mourn the criminal in front of her. In some ways she felt like she knew him, as if he was Kaito's older and more mischievous brother, with how much the magician spoke of him. Even if something annoying vanishes from your life, you're still going to lament it's passing.

"Lets go. We have to get my dad up here."

"He'll be dead by the time we get back. We can't leave him alone."

"Ok." Aoko got one of her legs out from under her and sat down next to the thief's head, hardly able to make out his face over the hat. "We'll stay as long as you want. It's not nice to die alone," _even if you are a jerk._

Hakuba couldn't help but laugh at her whispered words. "I think he might actually like that if you said it louder. I don't know why, but it seems the more you insult him, the closer you two are."

"What are you talking about?'

Hakuba didn't meet her gaze but kept smiling. Kaito was going to die and it would only hurt Aoko more in the long run if she didn't realize it.

The detective reached over and took off the monocle, held in place by some unknown power. Kaito's eyes underneath showed no clarity in response to the detective's actions. Hakuba placed a hand underneath the magician's head so it wouldn't smack the concrete when he removed the hat.

Aoko's eyes widened when the hat was gone.

"I told you. Kaito _is _Kid. I've been trying to tell you but – I thought it would be better if he took the time to do it. I've never had any doubt that he would, eventually. It's too late for that now."

"But he- he can't be. Kaito can't be –"

Hakuba would have closed his eyes and let Aoko grieve for her friend in as much privacy as he could give her if he hadn't seen Kaito's mouth move.

"Kuroba-kun?"

Kaito's eyes blink a few more times but he wasn't able to look at Hakuba for long. He let out a few harsh breaths when he tried to speak but more droplets of blood were all that came out in quiet coughs.

"Do you want something?"

Kaito managed to nod. The magician's white clothes weren't so white anymore and the spreading stain stood against the night for once, along with his dark hair. He lifted his hand to the side a few inches and put it on Hakuba's knee.

"You want something from me?"

Another nod, followed by Kaito putting his head to the side to show his dislike of the idea.

"Ask it. I'm not angry with you Kuroba-kun. Ask anything, I'll do it."

Kaito breathed in and Hakuba caught the small smile that was quickly wiped off his lips in pain when his reached his hand into his coat pocket and drew out the heart-shaped diamond. There were spots of blood on it where it must have been sitting close to the bullet wound.

"You kept the real diamond." Hakuba was amazed at the other's audacity. If the gunman had noticed that he was given a fake, so many bad things could have happened. Something clicked in the detective's mind.

"But the one the other man's possession glowed red as well."

Kaito drew up the hand still holding the necklace and grinned, putting his pointer finger in front of his lips.

"You made a fake. You were even able to make it glow. The spectrum was off." Now that the detective thought about it, the other gem didn't glow in the same brightness and hue as when Kid was first covered in its light.

Another nod.

Kaito held out the gem and Hakuba took it in his hands.

"Do you want me to return it?"

This time Kaito shook his head and tried get his words out. They still wouldn't come and Hakuba knew it was a wonder that Kaito was even conscious at all.

Finally the magician took the stone back in his hand and used as much force as he could to smash it into the concrete floor.

"What are you doing? Are you trying to break it?"

Hakuba meant it as a rhetorical question and was dazed when Kaito nodded.

"You want me to break the diamond? Do you know how much trouble I'll be in? I can't do something like that!"

Kaito let out a little air that should have been a laugh. He released the diamond and his hand went slack, as if he were fine with Hakuba's answer and had given up on trying anymore.

"Kuroba-kun you can't die." Hakuba took the shoulder that was closest to him and shook the magician. "You can't die like this. I'm sorry I was angry with you but I had every right to be. You can't die now when I haven't forgiven you yet."

Hakuba saw the life leaving the dark-haired teenager.

"Fine. Kuroba-kun I'll do it, but you have to stay with me, just a little longer."

The detective took the sapphire into his hand and couldn't tell if it was the light or the blood that was appearing to make his palm red. "I want you to live."

Before he had a chance to smash the stone against the ground, the blood on his hand started to spread. He thought it was because he tipped his hand to the side and it started to drip down, taking the path of least resistance instead of staying fixed in his palm, but there was just too much blood falling over the side of his fingers.

Hakuba took the stone off his hand and wiped away the liquid to make sure the necklace hadn't somehow cut his palm. It was clean.

In his other hand, the mysterious blood continued to flow.

"What the hell?" The curse word felt foreign on the detective's lips but he had no other words to use. The stone itself was bleeding.

"Kuroba-kun what is -?" Hakuba cut his sentence short when he noticed Kaito wasn't breathing. Without a second thought, he placed both his hands on the magician's shoulders, the heart diamond falling onto the magician's chest. "I told you not to die on me!"

- _"I am all giving but I cannot give all."_ -

"What?" Hakuba narrowed his eyes and searched around in vain for the source of the female voice. It had sounded like it was echoing through a water filled tunnel, which was an impossibility on a five story rooftop.

-"_I'll need more help but I cannot help all."-_

"Who's there?" Hakuba was torn between trying to help Kaito and find the source of the insubstantial voice.

_-"Someone who had always been and always will be."-_

"I don't have time for riddles!" Hakuba tore his mind away from the voice and looked down at Kaito, trying to figure out what he could do to prolong his life. The blood had spread and mixed where it cascaded out of the stone. When Hakuba tried to remove it, the gem stayed firmly in place.

_-"I ask for forgiveness. I have not verbalized my thoughts in so long that words no longer flow for me the way they do for you."-_

It was impossible but the voice seemed to be coming from the stone itself.

"I must be getting delusional or something."

"No," Aoko moved to sit on the other side of Kaito's relaxed form, knowing full well that he wasn't breathing. "I heard it too."

_-"We must hasten our efforts if we are to save your companion, even though he cannot be saved."-_

"You're still speaking in-"

"What do we need to do?" Aoko leaned over so that she could hear the voice better. It was clear and distinct, but quiet and could easily be stolen by the wind.

_-"I am frail. My enchantments are not to be used on the dead but they are potent. He cannot be saved now but, by compounding my magic and integrating myself with this boy, there is a minute possibility of success. I am not acquainted with this young man though, and thus am already ill-assorted. If I use focuses, essentially the two of you, I might be capable of helping him." -_

"Fine." Aoko placed her hand on the gem and watched as more blood seeped into the magician's clothes. He twitched.

"Aoko-kun are you sure?" Hakuba looked over at her steeled eyes and ridged posture. "He is the Kid after all."

"I don't care."

"What a liar you are." Hakuba smiled, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder. "You can't fool me. This is hurting you."

"So what? I'm alive right now. I'm breathing. I can take tomorrow when it comes. Kaito can't. At least not without me. I can't let him die, not when he hasn't – explained himself to me. I just – I don't understand him right now." Aoko looked determinedly back at her best friend's face. "If it means saving Kaito's life, I don't care if he's the Kid."

"You want to understand him." Hakuba placed his hand on the stone, brushing his fingers against hers. "I want a few answers myself."

"That doesn't mean I'm going to let him get away with it when he's better."

Hakuba laughed. "I think you're presence may truly hinder him."

Neither of them were prepared when the magician screamed.

"What's wrong?" Aoko's voice was panicked. There was no way the magician shouldn't have been able to yell when there was no air in his lungs.

Hakuba felt stabs of resentment towards himself when he covered the Kaito's mouth with his hand. "I don't know but the police are still downstairs and we don't want to draw their attention."

Kaito started breathing.

Hakuba and Aoko stood over him as ragged breaths were taken in from all three of them. The detective could feel both their fingers shaking as they held the pendent.

The sun started to raise less than a half-an-hour later and the blood, along with the glow of the stone, started to fade.

"Who are you?" Aoko looked down as the light started to disappear from the gem. "You helped us so much and I never even asked who you are?"

_More like what you are._ Hakuba wasn't going to look a gift horse in the mouth but there were physical impossibilities that he was now faced with and had no answers for.

_-"I am you, Aoko Nakamori, and you, Hakuba Saguru. I am every man woman and child that was every born into this world and will be."-_

"More riddles." Hakuba sighed, "So what are you in linguistic terms?"

_-"Hope, despair, love… The first and last of everything."-_

"What? How can you be a sensation?"

The light was gone and he didn't receive his answer. Kaito was motionless and no breath ran through his body any longer.

"What do we do now? I guess it didn't work." Hakuba removed his hand and wiped off the coopery liquid onto his pants. They were black so it didn't show up.

"We wait."

The detective looked over at Aoko and sat on the ground so he was comfortable for a long stay as well. "Wait for what?"

"The impossible."


	4. Chapter 4: Chastising Death

Sorry if the ending is cheesy (don't kill me!)

* * *

_**Chapter 4: Chastising Death**_

* * *

"Three things cannot be long hidden: the sun, the moon, and the truth." - Buddhist quote

...

...

Hukuba had used his phone to call the Inspector and tell the man that his daughter was with him at the moment, staying over because of her father's absence last night and Hakuba's own dreary mood. Nakamori bought the story easily enough.

Aoko tried to do the same for Kaito. Hakuba knew the magician's mother didn't believe a word of it. Neither of them had the heart to tell her that her son was dead.

The only time that either of them got off the roof was when Hakuba made a comment that they would soon join the magician if they didn't eat something. The detective made it his mission to get the food because Aoko wouldn't remove herself from Kaito's side.

"You stupid idiot." Aoko told him when they were alone. "Why did you have to lie to me? Why be a thief? You're such a good magician. Tou-san is going to be so angry when I tell him. You'd better wake up for it."

She knew she wouldn't get any retort from him. It still hurt.

Her best friend was lying motionless in front of her and Aoko had thought that – who knows – that somehow Kaito could fight off anything, even death. He'd fought off her loneliness for so long after all. Both of their loneliness.

Aoko took his right hand in hers and looked at where the bullet had shattered a part of his bone. It looked painful but Kid hadn't shown any sign of it besides when he'd originally gotten hit. Aoko had thought the bullet had just scrapped his arm.

Kaito was hiding too much from her. She would have to put a stop to that when he woke up. Put a stop to his thieving too.

But first she would have to find out why. No one knew Kaito better than Aoko, besides his mother, and the girl knew that Kaito wasn't the type of guy to go around stealing priceless artifacts for nothing. Maybe once, for the heck of it, but not on a regular basis.

Almost half of Kaito's jacket was still white and his pants and shoes were unstained. Keeping Kaito's hand in hers, she felt the anger draining from her along with her energy. To anyone else, this was Kid in front of them; to Aoko, Kaito never looked more natural.

Then there was the stone that was still sitting on his chest. Aoko couldn't budge it and it was the only thing keeping her hope alive. There was no blood anymore and no red glow, but something must have been holding it in place.

"Here"

Aoko jumped at Hakuba's voice. The detective had already come back up the stairs and he offered her a wrapped-up deli sandwich. "You should really eat something."

"I'm not hungry." Aoko put her knees up to her face and wrapped her arms around them. There was still blood on her hands; she hadn't cared enough to wipe it off. She kept hold of Kaito's gloved hand.

"Aoko-kun, I'm not sure what happened, or what's going to happen. If you're starving you won't be able to face it."

"Fine." She took the sandwich from Hakuba who sat down beside her. "Don't blame me if I waste the food."

"I won't." The detective reached into the plastic bag he brought up to show her his own sandwich, only half eaten.

"What about your eye?"

Hakuba turned his head to the side. "What about it?"

"You're mad at Kaito, aren't you? For hurting you?" Aoko frowned. "I'd be mad too."

"He didn't mean it. I should have forgiven him but I like to hold a grudge when I can. It seems to have backfired this time." Hakuba chuckled with little humor. "Is there any chance that Kuroba-kun has some fear of water? Ponds maybe?"

"Oh yes. Kaito hates it when we have to go over them, even though we only go over the bridge. He likes the water but the fish scare him."

"The fish?"

"Yeah," Aoko smiled. "Kaito's really scared of them."

"That would explain a few things."

Aoko looked over at him and Hakuba pointed to his face. "When I found him, he'd fallen in a pond. I knew he reacted to my company on instinct but I wasn't sure why it was done so thoughtlessly."

"He hurt you because of the stupid fish?" Aoko got mad at the idiot and Hakuba laughed genuinely. She played out the story in her mind and her anger calmed down. "I'm sure he felt horrible about it. No wonder he didn't want to see you at the hospital."

She took a few bites of the food. Her body accepted it because it had to but her stomach grumbled when her emotions wouldn't let her enjoy it.

"Do you think there's still hope?"

Hakuba sighed and looked over at her seriously. "I don't know. Kuroba-kun hasn't moved since last night. If it weren't for the fact that something far out of my league was obviously going on, I would say it was impossible."

"But something unfathomable is going on." He reassured her. "I don't understand it but I can't deny it once it stares me in the face like it has. I don't know whether I'd be giving you or myself false hope by saying that there might be something bigger than us that's going to play a deciding role in what happens to him."

"I hope that whatever it is, it's on our side."

"Yes."

Hakuba turned away from her and Aoko took a few more bites of the sandwich before putting it down. She couldn't even taste what she was eating.

Time passed by with no definable course except for the growing shadows that reached towards their small group.

Aoko continued to watch Kaito's closed eyes and still chest, hoping for the impossible. If Kaito were to be taken from her like this, Aoko didn't know how to handle it. Hakuba was there too, but he'd barely gotten to know him and the magician's death would mean much less to him than it would to her, to Kaito's mother, even to her father.

She couldn't face her father if Kaito died. Couldn't tell him the truth.

The day was long and the sun was hot. Aoko looked over at the detective and saw him asleep on the crock of his arm and one of his knees.

She was tired as well and couldn't fight off its hold on her any longer.

Aoko fell asleep beside him, one hand still holding Kaito's while the other served as a makeshift pillow, rough against the ground but far better than nothing.

…

"Well, not the most comforting sight to wake up to."

Aoko scraped her arm across the roof in an attempt to get up as fast as she could.

"Kaito!" Without even thinking about it, Aoko threw her arms around the magician, still covered in blood, still hurt, but definitely alive. "Kaito!" She started to cry.

"And here I was thinking that you and the detective looked so cute together."

"Shut up! Just shut up!" Aoko couldn't get her emotions straight. Nothing mattered anymore. So what if he was Kaitou Kid? So what if he stole? So what if he dragged her father out every now and then to chase him? He was still Kaito and he was alive. That was all that mattered.

Aoko felt Kaito's arms wrap around her as well. They were shaking and cold but that didn't matter either. When Kaito pressed his cheek to hers, it was freezing.

"I'm so happy your alive Kaito!" She hugged him tighter to make sure.

"For now."

"What?" Aoko reluctantly backed off so that she could look him in the eye. She noticed his blue iris had a touch of crimson to them and some of the marks he'd only gotten after he had died hadn't gone away. "What do you mean?"

"I would like an answer to that as well."

Hakuba must have been woken up at the same time as Aoko but had let the girl find an outlet for her emotions.

_-"I am sorry. I could not do more than what I have."-_

It was the same voice from the other night that had given Aoko the chance to see her best friend again. "What?"

_-"My abilities are tied to the moonlight. Since I had attempted something that did not give my power to the possessor, seeing as he was comatose, I was not able to transfer as much as I generally would. I am only capable of keeping him alive at night, when the moon shines upon the earth."-_

She could only see Kaito at night? That wasn't so bad. At least he was here, with her.

"But that's not an option." When Kaito spoke, Aoko could hear the hidden pain in his words. He might have been alive but it was taking a lot for him to say that way.

"What do you mean Kuroba-kun?" The anger from the blond wasn't new. She'd been hearing it a lot recently from Hakuba, who was usually so mild mannered. Aoko knew where it came from now so she didn't try to hold him back.

Kaito reached into his blue shirt and pulled out the necklace where he must have placed it around his neck. "I can't let anyone get this. Even wearing it, it's dangerous. If someone should see it, or go looking for me – I just can't."

The red glow was bright and showed through his shirt even after he'd put it back.

"What do you mean? Kuroba-kun I need to know what's going on!"

Kaito grabbed hold of the gem through his collared shirt, wrinkling the navy-colored silk as he tried to tell them something he'd already reasoned out. "This thing. This stupid little thing," he shook his head. "Sorry, I didn't mean to call you stupid."

-_"I am inside you and understand your pain. You need not apologize to me."-_

"Yeah, well..." Kaito went quiet and closed his eyes. Aoko couldn't understand it. Why was he upset that he hadn't died?

"That gem. Kuroba-kun, you know what it is don't you?" Hakuba cut in before Aoko was able to get her answer.

"Of course I know what it is. Didn't expect it to talk," Kaito opened his eyes just a slight amount and stared at the red glow in his hand. "But I know what it is. Pandora has been a big part of my life for a while now."

_-"Although that is not officially my name – I have no name – human's must always have some way of identifying the unfamiliar. If you like, you may refer to me as such."-_

"Quick question for you, how _can_ you talk?" Kaito took the necklace off and dangled it in a playful manner in front of himself, like a cat playing with string. Aoko was surprised at his odd behavior towards something that had obviously saved his live.

It wasn't that she couldn't see his tortured smile, the readiness he possessed at the prospect of death, or the certainty of it that played in her friend's eyes as well as Hakuba's. She didn't want to admit to it but that didn't mean she couldn't see it.

_-"I can talk because I am here, even if I am not here. You can use my power because you already possess it and yet you do not. I am afraid I cannot explain it to you better than that."-_

"That was an explanation? I think I'm even more confused." Hakuba shook his head and watched at Kaito swung it back and forth, hypnotic under the night sky. "Kuroba-kun, why on earth have you been looking for such a gem?"

"Ah…" Kaito shifted his gaze to it and the red fluttered for a moment before settling, accompanied by the soft sound of feminine laughter.

_-"The boy would like nothing more than to destroy me."-_

"What? Kaito you can't do that! If the stone is broken then the power will be gone, right? You'll die!"

"I know."

"Then why?" the whispered words weren't Aoko's but she wanted an answer as well. Too many things had been happening recently and, even for Kaito's standards, they were becoming too much for her.

Aoko couldn't lose her best friend again.

"Hakuba-kun, you saw Snake." Kaito's eyes fully opened for the first time. They were as cold as his body and the red was more pronounced, causing him to look demonic. "If Pandora could do this for me when I'm dead, imagine what would happen if someone like him got their hands on it. I can't risk it."

"Kaito we won't let that happen," Aoko told him with determination. She hadn't thought much when she had known that Kid was in danger but the sight of the dark clothed man and his eagerness to kill didn't carry the same disregard. "We won't let anyone know. You can keep the stone and we'll find some way for you to stay safe. I don't know how but – it's not impossible."

"Aoko." She could hear the tenseness of his voice. "Do you think I'm alive right now? Would you call this living?" Kaito waved a hand down at his body, the hand that he shouldn't have been able to move because of the bullet wound. A bullet wound which was no longer bleeding. None of his injuries were. He was breathing, but even that seemed unnecessary unless he wished to speak.

It was scary but she hadn't noticed how wrong he looked. How cold he felt.

"I don't care. Kaito, I can't lose you." Aoko meant it. Every word was saturated with truth. Kaito would be different from now on, she'd only get to see him at night –or when the moon was out-, but he would be able to stay with her.

He laughed. It was almost enough to make Aoko hit him. The frailty of her friend was something new and it kept her hand back.

"I'd doubt I'd even age anymore. You'd grow up and I'd probably still look like this."

_-"More than likely that would be true. I'm afraid my influence on such matters is limited."-_

It was strange but Aoko could have sworn that there was something added at the end of Pandora's sentence. The words were whispered and left her mind quickly but the imprint of them was still there.

"Sadly I thought Pandora was going to be a diamond." Kaito actually twirled the necklace around and Aoko thought it would fly off his finger and over the edge before she reassured herself that it _was_ Kaito. He didn't drop anything on accident. "I'm not really sure how to destroy sapphire. You think extreme heat will still work?"

"In all probability. I never considered you're interests would lead in that direction and my own do not coincide with _destroying_ precious jewelry." Hakuba sighed, "I'm afraid that I can't help but agree with you for your reasons."

"No! Kaito you can't!" Aoko didn't care that she was crying in front of them.

"I could probably just break it if I tried long enough." Kaito ignored her as if she hadn't said anything, eyeing the gem with no outwardly concern as to what its nonexistence would mean.

Aoko turned away from him, bitterly trying to ignore him with the same detachment that he was showing her.

"I'm sorry."

The teenage girl couldn't help but look back at hearing the sadness in the magician's voice. When she turned to face him he was smiling, as if the sorrow had never been there. "To both of you," he continued without raising his eyes from a set spot on the concrete in front of him.

"I've heard enough of your apologies." Hakuba placed a hand on Kaito's shoulder where the cape still hung. "I think it's about time I accepted them."

Aoko remained silent and looked into his eyes, waiting for him to meet her gaze. Kaito let out a rough laugh and looked down at his clothes.

"You must hate me now."

"Never."

Aoko had, at no point in their years of friendship, seen the magician look so astonished, especially with his remoteness he'd been showing off since the time he'd had his life stolen back from the grave.

"You can't mean that." He put his smile back on and it hurt Aoko to see that he hadn't taken her seriously.

"Kaito I don't care. I want you to stay. I don't care if it puts you in danger. I don't care if it means that man comes after you. I don't care if you Kaitou Kid. Kaito…" Aoko paused to take a breath and calm her shaky voice. "I just want you to stay."

"Then I'm sorry I have to take that away from you. If you won't let me apologize for what I've been doing so far then I'll have to apologize for leaving you. I never meant to."

"You don't have to leave."

Kaito rolled his eyes and looked up at the waning moon. The necklace had stopped its spiraling and was now sitting still in the palm of one of Kaito's upraised hands.

"Let's try this again." This time Kaito had the leverage and strength to get behind his assault. Aoko couldn't stop him in time before the sapphire hit hard onto the rooftop.

Kaito dropped it with a scream and clutched his chest.

"Are you alright?" Aoko quickly got behind him and put her arms protectively around his shoulders. She could feel her friends rushed breathing and speeding heart rate.

"Damn it that hurt." Kaito panted for a while before he relaxed into her arms, breath slowing down. "I guess I have to destroy it quickly unless I want to keep doing that."

"Well…"

Aoko looked up from the white clothing to watch Hakuba bend over the gem "You chipped it. Not very impressive Kuroba-kun."

"That was from just a chip?" She felt her friend tense under her and Aoko tightened her hold on him. "That -" Kaito shook his head, "I'm going to have to find a quicker way. It's too painful."

"Just stop it."

"Aoko." She felt as Kaito's hand went up to hold hers, glove smooth against her skin. "I can't. You can leave if you want."

Aoko shook her head and buried it into her friend's back. She could feel his trembling linger from the sudden shock of pain. Aoko couldn't say anything but she wasn't going to leave. If it was so dangerous that Kaito was willing to die, then Aoko would listen to him.

_He's such an idiot though, _the teenager thought to herself. If Kaito could see how much he was hurting her, it would only make things harder, so Aoko steadied herself and moved away from him.

"Do what you want." As hard as it was to make it a command, her voice pulled it off without any hints of torment. If Kaito could hide his pain then so could she.

"Kuroba-kun."

Kaito caught the heavy metal pipe with reflexes as fast as a cat. Aoko watched as her friend's attention was drawn away from her and to the detective the instant that his name had been called, arm stretching out instinctively.

Aoko shook her head. Now that she was looking at Kaito, she couldn't understand how she had missed the signs. Kaito was too fast, too prepared, from just a school day of being chased around by her. There wasn't any doubt that he was a thief, or at least something more than an ordinary high schooler.

But she'd figured out most of the reasons for that part of Kaito's hidden life. The mysterious red jewel, she guessed, was Kid's sole focus, along with Kaito's. What he hoped to gain from stopping the gem from falling into the hands of the guy in black, she didn't know. That wasn't going to be the last thing she talked about with him.

With a smile Kaito tossed the gem to the floor. "This will work," the magician saluted Hakuba, "Thanks."

The detective shrugged as watched the scene with wary eyes. "It was better than watching you try again."

The thief twirled the pipe around him for pure enjoyment for a while. The way Kaito's hands played over the pipe and the ease in which he held onto it also spoke of strength she hadn't known he possessed.

It was almost funny that she'd thought he was weak before – Quick and flexible but weak. Kaito had painted that picture of himself and Aoko was ashamed she had bought into it.

The humor and anger were simultaneously wiped from her mind as Kaito raised the pipe above his head, ready to break the jewel.

Their eyes met for a split second before it impacted.

Aoko could see how much Kaito was afraid now that he was about to be taken from her. What she'd seen as self-confidence and determination was, in truth, put up to mask the pain of loss. Aoko could feel the same emotions running through her body.

Neither of them was fooling the other.

Aoko hoped the sapphire wouldn't break, even though she knew Kaito would have tried again if it didn't. She hoped there was some way to talk him out of it.

But the precious stone wasn't built to go up against steal. Aoko watched the heart fracture into three larger sections before chips of it flew into the air, two or three of them brushing against her leg where her shorts from the night before couldn't protect them.

Kaito's eyes lost their focus and, for a moment, were completely overcome with red light. He fell to the floor almost gracefully this time and Aoko couldn't help but cry out.

"Kaito." Aoko grabbed the hand closest to her and watched Hakuba kneel somewhere on the ground beside her. She didn't spare him anymore thought.

Aoko picked up Kaito gloved hand and was about to pull it closer to her when it was jerked in the opposite direction.

"Aoko quit it! That hurts!"

The magician and Aoko stared dumbfounded at one another and the differences in his appearance were immediate and apparent. Kaito's skin was no longer white against the moon light; his eyes no longer bore any shade of ruby. He clutched his wrist close to his chest, clearly feeling pain now that he hadn't before.

"What happened?" Kaito broke the silence first and continued to look up at her.

"I don't know."

Although she didn't want to, for fear of what she might find, Aoko looked over to where the sapphire had been to see if it really was destroyed.

Instead of the particles catching her attention, Hakuba did. He was unconscious and had fallen onto his side.

"Hakuba-kun…?"

"Ow, what do you want?" Hakuba opened his eye, fogged with whatever had knocked him out. "What happened?'

The three of them stared at one another.

"This isn't possible." Kaito got up and examined his body. The bullet wound in his wrist was still there but the one that had stuck his heart didn't even leave a scar to mark where it had been.

"Why do I have a headache? And why is it suddenly so hard to see anything in the dark?" Hakuba looked at them for answers.

"I can see just fine." Aoko turned to make out any differences that he may have had. She saw Kaito move as well.

"I can see find too."

Aoko watched Kaito move over to the blond and put his face straight in the others, making her want to look away at how close they were. "Hakuba-kun, your eye is dilated."

"What?" Hakuba put a hand up to his head and Aoko watched as something dawned on him. Kaito's grin could have lit up the night.

"Aoko," He turned to her with more happiness then she'd seen in a long time. "Do you know the myth behind sapphires?"

Aoko shook her head and watched as Hakuba undid the bandages over his right eye.

"It's said that sapphires have mystical properties, especially when it comes to healing. One of the most well known of these healing properties is the removal of impurities from the eye."

When the bandages were off, Aoko stared in mild surprise as what Kaito had already hinted at. Hakuba had his eye back.

"But the stone was destroyed. How is this possible?" The blond blinked a few times before smiling at them.

_-"You can't really destroy hope now, can you? The stone was just a vessel, not my real power. While I was trapped in it, I could do nothing. I did not mean to trick you little ones but it was part of my nature not to able to tell you of such matters."- _

Light laughter followed the voice as it disappeared into the rising sun rays.

You never answered," Aoko said numbly. "What you really were."

_-"I am what every person seeks and yet I visit few. I am unbiased and loved, yet scorned upon. I am the magic of every emotion that humanity possesses. They seek me out but I only come when I am not expected. I can extend life, save life, and conquer death."-_

_-"I am a miracle."-_


End file.
